senior correspondent scott cohn is there in the buckeye state's capital of columbus. what are you hearing before the polls close, scott? >> reporter: well, bill, it is an important state for both candidates. for governor mitt romney, it is nearly essential in his path to 270 electoral votes. he's made two trips here in the last 24 hours. actually, even less than that. here today up in cleveland for a quick stop following a quick stop at the airport here in columbus last night. vice president joe biden was here today as well practically bumping into governor romney up in cleveland where he paid a visit today. and president obama last night here in columbus, a rally attended by about 15,000 people as well as bruce springsteen and jay-z. all of this has definitely got the attention of the voters in ohio. here at ohio state university, they have been lined up out the door at a polling place here at the ohio union. we're hearing reports of strong turnout throughout the state, including in areas that are heavily republican or heavily independent, which of course tends to fa